Companion II
-G̸̘͒r̸̢̢̄e̸͇͌̈ŭ̶͉͗u̶͈̤͛g̵͓̘͗̚g̸̙̔g̵̳͆h̸͙͇̎̈́ḧ̶͓̭́h̶͈̣͋̊h̵̢̞̍ḧ̶͚́͝h̸̕͠!̶̺̙͐̍
The Ten Legs monster ferociously advanced towards us. Each step it took with its countless tentacle-like legs made the ground tremble, and Old Man Scho and I bounced up and down continuously.
To be precise, the Ten Legs wasn't really stepping. Upon enhancing my sight and looking closely, the creature was actually walking on numerous hands.
Something resembling human hands and arms.With each step taken by its thousands, if not tens of thousands of arms, chunks of red flesh and blood splattered everywhere. Bones snapped and joints broke, but it seemed to make no difference to the creature. New arms regenerated incessantly where old ones were severed.
A long trail of bloodstains, like a red carpet, lay behind the Ten Legs as it approached. This giant red carpet was symbolic of the Ten Legs. Thus, it was also referred to as the Red Carpet in foreign lands.
I muttered, “This one's a real superstar.”
“Ready?”
Old Man Scho asked in his awkward Korean. By then, everyone in the vanguard, including me, had already drawn their weapons.
I glanced at my adjutant, Yu Ji-won, who nodded while studying a map spread out on the table. It was a signal that all preparations were complete.
I nodded back.“Yes. Let's finish this quickly and go eat.”
I was the first to step forward.
Six hundred of our squadron followed.
While not as imposing as the steps of the Ten Legs, the six hundred footsteps laden with the weight of life and death formed a considerable vibration.
At that moment.
“――ah――”
A song erupted from behind us.
Dang Seo-rin, the guild leader of Samcheon, the leader of the Korean guild alliance, often known as the Witch of the Train Station due to her peculiar taste of always roaming around train stations.
However, apart from being a leader, Dang Seo-rin's true nature as an Awakener in the battlefield was something else.
“――ah――ah―”
She was a witch who cast powerful spells by singing and reciting poems.
Cursed Song Incantation, the art of invoking 'spells' through 'songs,' was pioneered and solely utilized by her.
She became a myth among those who had awakened magical abilities. Such was the battlefield Dang Seo-rin.
Despite her humility in claiming to be merely an imitator rather than a creator.
Her power was anything but modest.
“ah―――ah―――ah”
Initially, Dang Seo-rin’s voice began as a single thread but soon split into two, three, four strands, embroidering the devastated skies above Seoul.
An acapella composed solely of her voice.
The principle behind the Cursed Song magic developed by Dang Seo-rin was simple.
It began with ‘repetition magic,’ which functioned like a recorder. It was a basic magic that merely repeated and replayed the spellcaster's incantations continuously.
Dang Seo-rin saw potential in this unremarkable magic.
First, she allowed the repetition magic to resonate continuously in the air. At the core of this, she would overlay a completely new enchantment. The repetition magic would then start to replay the newly added part as well.
First melody, repetition.
Second melody, amplification.
Third melody, reflex enhancement.
As the battle reached its sixth minute, the third melody began to envelop hundreds of our fighters.
Even those who were nearly dismembered or beheaded by the monster's tentacles managed to block it once, twice, ten times.
“―ah――ah――”
“ah―――ah―――ah”
“――ah――”
Dang Seo-rin’s melodies did not intend to stop there.
Just as the fourth melody was about to begin and change the atmosphere, the Ten Legs, sensing something amiss, turned its body.
Realizing it had been deliberately lured here, it attempted to flee without hesitation.
Its massive body twisted instantly, flinging nearby Awakeners in all directions.
“Emit!”
“O-nya!”
Old Man Scho, who had learned the word 'O-nya' before any other Korean phrase, drew his sword and charged. It was truly reliable to see him in action—even I felt an involuntary sense of relief.
But it was a feint. That damn clever monster had previously planted six of its tentacles underground.
As Old Man Scho charged, spikes sprouted from the ground, puncturing his body with neat holes.
A cloud of blood poured down. Instant death.
“Damn it!”
Dang Seo-rin’s magical incantation ended abruptly before reaching the fifth melody. Our squad was breached, our defensive line collapsed, and the core of our operation, Dang Seo-rin, fell to her knees riddled with numerous holes.
The last thing I saw was the Ten Legs setting up a skewer grill shop across the plain. The Red Carpet was merely a decorative piece inviting guests into its establishment.
That was the end of the sixth cycle.
The seventh cycle started. Again.
“Emit!”
“O-nya!”
'O-nya' was truly a mysterious Korean word. It could mean 'yes,' 'I know, you bastard,' and 'stop nagging me' all at once, and Old Man Scho, the Swordmaster, swept the ground with his sword energy while embedding all these meanings into it.
-G̸̘͒r̸̢̢̄e̸͇͌̈ŭ̶͉͗u̶͈̤͛g̵͓̘͗̚g̸̙̔g̵̳͆h̸͙͇̎̈́ḧ̶͓̭́h̶͈̣͋̊h̵̢̞̍ḧ̶͚́͝h̸̕͠!̶̺̙͐̍
The spikes lurking underground were severed in an instant.
The false retreat was seen through. The Ten Legs, enraged, harvested the lives of humans with its limbs that resembled human arms and hands.
The songs in the air could not be harvested.
“ah――ah――ah―――ah”
The melody continued. It added layers. It resonated.
Every time her acapella embraced another tone, we had to sacrifice a life.
Seventh cycle ended. Eighth cycle started. Eighth cycle ended. Ninth cycle started.
Forever within this repeating da capo, Old Man Scho and I charged. We rushed in. The Ten Legs fought back against our sword strikes.
In an instant, the bulk of the Ten Legs swelled up like a balloon. The tentacles it had revealed so far were merely a taste of what this monster harbored within, as thousands of spikes burst forth from its body.
The ninth cycle ended.
“――ah――.”
And the tenth cycle started.
Forever within this repeating da capo, Old Man Scho and I charged. We rushed in. The Ten Legs fought back against our sword strikes. Before it could swell up again, we dove into the midst of the Ten Legs.
-G̸̘͒r̸̢̢̄e̸͇͌̈ŭ̶͉͗u̶͈̤͛g̵͓̘͗̚g̵̳͆h̸͙͇̎̈h̶͈̣͋̊ḧ̶͚́͝h̸̕͠!̶̺̙͐̍
Old Man Scho from the left. I from the right.
Within the repeating spiral of cycles, I lived not as the vice-guild leader of Samcheon but as a direct disciple of Old Man Scho.
What might have been the same repetition for the monster was not the same for me. Every time our time advanced by a span, so did Dang Seo-rin's song by another novel-length.
First melody, repetition.
Second melody, amplification.
Third melody, reflex enhancement.
Fourth melody, weapon strength enhancement.
Fifth melody, stamina recovery.
Sixth melody, mental awakening.
An aria of soul consolation was chanted in the grey skies.
The 1st squadron swapped places with the 2nd squadron, and the injured continuously retreated. Nevertheless, neither Dang Seo-rin nor I took a single step back from the front lines.
We were all sacrificing our lives.
By the time the sixth melody was repeating, her song changed. Until then, it had been protecting us; now the melody suddenly sprang forward, attacking the Ten Legs.
Like red spikes.
Seventh melody, weakening curse.
Eighth melody, darkness curse.
Ninth melody, sensory inhibition curse.
The massive body of the Ten Legs became dull. As the monster swung its arms, collapsed buildings tumbled down. Perhaps it was a mere flinch.
“Old Man!”
“I know it! Damn it!”
We clung persistently.
My term of address for Old Man Scho changed, and so did the flavor of his responses in Korean. Now, without saying a word, Old Man Scho and I perfectly timed our slashes to sever the tentacles of the Ten Legs.
The Ten Legs fought back against our sword strikes, but to no avail. New tentacles sprouted more slowly, and our blades cut through the arms of the Ten Legs more swiftly.
Though the creature stepped forward with thousands of arms, it was only a single step for it, while we always ran two steps for every one of its.
And so.
“ah―――ah―――ah”
“ah――ah――ah―――ah”
“―ah――ah――”
“――ah――”
Tenth melody, petrification curse.
Continually regenerating tentacles of the Ten Legs were nearly meaningless against the curse. However, even the remaining spikes became a lethal blow.
Dozens of spikes aiming for Old Man Scho and me turned to stone all at once. Of course, it was just a momentary pause. If even three seconds, no, just five seconds passed, new tentacles would sprout and attempt to impale us.
To give us those three seconds, Dang Seo-rrin kept singing.
We swung our swords.
Where all the tentacles had vanished, we found the Ten Legs' two eyeballs, which also served as its hearts. Destroying one heart was pointless as the other would immediately regenerate, bestowing the Ten Legs with virtually eternal life.
“Arrrrgh!”
Old Man Scho and I screamed as we charged.
Our cries were not bizarre like the roars of the Ten Legs, nor were they as beautiful as Dang Seo-rin's chanting. The duet of the two regressors was a mess. If it were a song, it would be off-key to the extreme.
But somehow, perhaps it was just a feeling, it seemed like our rugged screams momentarily matched the aria of Dang Seo-rin.
A mere coincidence of harmonizing discord.
-G̸̘͒r̸̢̢̄e̸͇͌̈ŭ̶͉͗u̶͈̤͛g̵͓̘͗̚g̸̙̔g̵̳͆h̸͙͇̎̈́ḧ̶͓̭́h̶͈̣͋̊h̵̢̞̍ḧ̶͚́͝h̸̕͠!̶̺̙͐̍
And that was the only remaining dissonance in this world.
That noise, the heartbeat of the monster, the source of the vibration, we both thrust our swords towards it simultaneously.
Blood splattered.
Old Man Scho’s sword tip pierced the left eyeball-heart, and my blade slashed the right eyeball-heart.
-――――――!!
A scream erupted.
Blood spurted as countless tentacles began to stretch out from the Ten Legs' body. The tips of the tentacles loomed right in front of us. Yet, I did not fear being pierced; instead, I pressed the tip of my sword even harder into the eye-heart.
Hesitation.
The tentacle that had reached right before us paused. The tentacle, resembling a human arm with five fingers, spread its fingers to their limits, as if seized by a convulsion.
One second passed, then two seconds.
As the music dwindled and the last lingering moments seemed to extend indefinitely, we too stood silently, swords embedded in the monster's heart, watching the creature.
Then suddenly, I felt an irresistible urge to utter these words.
"Did we get it?"
Old Man Scho blanched.
"Hey, you fool! If you say that now...!”
The five fingers of the Ten Legs exploded. Flesh tore. Bursting open, it spilled forth red blood.
Fingers, arms, countless tentacles, one after another, burst and flowed.
There was no turning back.
The monster that had wandered the red paths of this world for so long drowned itself in a pool of red.
“……”
Suddenly drenched in blood, Old Man Scho stared blankly downwards. Then he turned towards me and finally looked behind.
The moment we turned our backs, a roar louder than any earthquake created by the Ten Legs shook the heavens.
Hundreds had died, but still thousands survived, clenching their fists and hugging each other, they ran towards us. They grabbed my head and tore my shirt. Laughter and cries intermingled.
“We did it! We actually did it!”
Even Old Man Scho, who had never spoken such words before, threw his arms around me, sobbing.
"Ah, doc! Thank you! It’s all thanks to you! I couldn’t have made it this far alone!"
It was something Old Man Scho would normally never say.
I, too, was moved and blurted out something similar, but I won’t describe precisely what—it’s not my hobby to document my own cringey moments.
[The Saintess of National Salvation blesses your victory.]
[The Monarch of the Crimson Horse shows interest in your bravery.]
[The Conqueror of the Alps marvels at your feat.]
At that time, the identity of the Saintess was still unknown in the cycles.
Just like others, I was purely able to receive the Constellations' congratulations.
After a round of frenzy had passed,
Finally, the overall commander of this operation, Dang Seo-rin, slowly approached me.
“Can’t believe you pulled off the 10th melody.”
Perhaps because she sang too passionately, her voice was hoarse.
She looked happy yet somewhat embarrassed as she smiled.
“Amazing. I never thought we’d actually win.”
“How long did we hold out?”
“41 minutes.”
Dang Seo-rin’s forehead was drenched with sweat. Her hair was disheveled, sticking to her face, yet it was relatively tame compared to what could have happened.
Especially considering the endings she faced from the 4th to the 9th cycle.
“We finally reclaimed Seoul.”
“Well, south of the Han River, to be precise.”
“Always used to be the most expensive part of town, right? Good for us. Now we’re land-rich.”
Despite achieving a colossal feat just then, Dang Seo-rin’s tone was as casual as if she were just on a stroll. Her cheekiness made me chuckle.
“Now it’s the worst land in Korea, though.”
“Hmm. Hungry? Any injuries? Let's go grab some food.”
That’s when Old Man Scho chimed in.
“What’s the menu? Octopus sashimi? I can’t eat that.”
The embarrassed old man who had blurted out cheesy lines was nowhere to be seen, replaced once again by the grumpy German curmudgeon he usually was.
“Geez. I just don’t get why you guys boil that horrific-looking Cthulhu kraken.”
“It’s okay. I was just saying now, I don’t really like octopus sashimi that much either.”
I was surprised.
“Really? Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
Dang Seo-rin smiled brightly.
“Actually, I prefer tacos with wasabi and a highball.”
Ear-splitting, red carpet. A gourmet of crimson.
A monster active south of the Han River. Solitary, unstructured behavior.
Civilian and military casualties estimated at approximately 436,000. Estimated 950 Awakeners dead. Number of injured and missing unknown.
Official designation, Ten Legs.
Subjugation completed.
By the way, the menu for that day’s celebration was pork belly with soju.
There wasn’t a Japanese restaurant nearby.
Footnotes:
